A computer method and system to allow reconciliation of documents that were originally part of a first mail production job, but that may have been produced as part of a different second mail production job. A database stores a first record that identifies documents in the first mail production job. The record includes one or more fields indicating a production status of the documents in the first mail production job. At some point in the production process, a document is separated from what was originally defined as the first mail production job, to be instead produced as part of a second mail production job. The database further stores a second record identifying documents in the second mail production job. These records are updated to include a pointer indicating the relationship between the document and the first mail production job and the second mail production job. During mail production the production status of a document is determined. The database records are updated to record the current status of the documents. Responsive to a query regarding the status of documents originally in the first job, the pointer is used to identify the status of the document in the second job.
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1. A computer method for reconciliation of mail production jobs, the method comprising: tracking mail piece production of documents that are originally part of a first mail production job, but that may be produced as part of a different second mail production job, the step of tracking comprising: in a database, storing a first record identifying documents in the first mail production job, the first record further including one or more fields indicating a production status of the documents in the first mail production job; separating a document from the first mail production job to be produced as part of a second mail production job; in the database, storing a second record identifying documents in the second mail production job; in the database, updating one or more records pertaining to the document to include a pointer indicating the relationship between the document and the first mail production job and the second mail production job; determining a status of the document during mail production in the second mail production job; updating the one or more records with a status of the document; and responsive to a query regarding the status of documents originally in the first job, using the pointer to identify the status of the document in the second job, and providing that status pursuant to the query; wherein the step of updating one or more records to include the pointer includes updating the first record to identify a second mall production job ID and a second piece ID within the second mail production job for one or more documents in the first mail production job.
A computer-based method tracks mail production jobs, even when documents move between jobs. It stores records for a first mail production job in a database, noting the production status of each document. When a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, a second record is created for that job. The database is updated to link the document's records in both jobs using a pointer. As the document progresses through the second job, its status is tracked and updated. When someone queries the status of a document originally in the first job, the pointer identifies its current status in the second job, reporting that status in the query result. The pointer includes the second mail production job's ID and the specific document's ID within that second job.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of using the pointer includes referring to the second mail production job ID and the second piece ID in the second record to find the status of the document originally part of the first mail production job.
The mail production job tracking method uses the pointer, which includes the second mail production job's ID and the document's ID within that job (as recorded in the first job's record), to look up the document's current status by referencing the second job's record. This retrieves the status of the document that was originally part of the first mail production job, allowing the system to provide status updates even after the document has been moved to a different job.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job includes merging a plurality of mail production jobs to create a larger mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking method, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, this reassigning can occur by merging multiple smaller mail production jobs into a single, larger mail production job. The document is then part of this larger, merged job. The tracking system then follows the document through this merged job.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job includes identifying that the document was damaged as part of the first mail production job, and generating the second mail production job to reprocess a plurality of damaged documents.
In the mail production job tracking method, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, this reassigning can occur because the document was damaged during the first mail production job. A new, second mail production job is then created specifically to reprocess the damaged documents. The tracking system follows the damaged document through this reprocessing job.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job includes splitting the first mail production job into smaller jobs.
In the mail production job tracking method, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, this reassigning can occur by splitting the original mail production job into multiple smaller jobs. The document is then assigned to one of these smaller, new mail production jobs. The tracking system then follows the document through that smaller job.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job further includes merging smaller mail production jobs to form the second mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking method where a first job is split into smaller jobs, sometimes these smaller jobs are then merged to form a new, second mail production job. The tracking system then follows the documents through this merged job, which itself was formed from pieces of a split first job.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of splitting the first mail production job into smaller jobs includes separating documents to be produced as physical mail pieces from documents to be produced as electronic documents.
In the mail production job tracking method where a first job is split into smaller jobs, the splitting can involve separating documents intended for physical mail from documents intended for electronic delivery. This creates separate mail production jobs for each type of delivery. The tracking system follows the documents through whichever type of job they are assigned to.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the second mail production job includes a series of job steps and the step of updating the status of the document includes recording status for individual job steps.
In the mail production job tracking method, the second mail production job involves a series of steps. The status tracking includes recording the document's status at each of these individual steps, providing a more granular view of the production process. This enables more detailed status reporting beyond simply "in production" or "completed."
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mail production job is a client job, and the step of updating one or more records in the database includes recording a relationship between documents in the client job and in the second mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking method, the first mail production job can be considered a client's specific job. The database updates include recording the relationship between the documents in this client's job and the documents in the second mail production job, which could be an internal processing job. This allows for tracking documents back to the original client request.
10. A computerized system for reconciliation of mail production jobs, the system comprising: a processor; a memory, the memory including a database storing a first record identifying documents in the first mail production job, the first record further including one or more fields indicating a production status of the documents in the first mail production job, the database further storing a second record identifying documents in a second mail production job; wherein the processor is configured to perform the following steps for tracking mail piece production of documents that are originally part of a first mail production job, but that may be produced as part of a different second mail production job: interact with the database to separate a document from the first mail production job to be produced as part of a second mail production job, update one or more records in the database pertaining to the document to include a pointer indicating the relationship between the document and the first mail production job and the second mail production job; determine a status of the document during mail production in the second mail production job; update the one or more records with a status of the document; and responsive to a query regarding the status of documents originally in the first job, using the pointer to identify the status of the document in the second job, and providing that status pursuant to the query; wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of updating one or more records to include the pointer by updating the first record to identify a second mail production job ID and a second piece ID within the second mail production job for one or more documents in the first mail production job.
A computer system tracks mail production jobs, even when documents move between jobs. The system has a processor and memory, including a database. The database stores records for a first mail production job, noting the production status of each document, and also stores records for a second mail production job. When a document is reassigned to the second job, the processor updates the database to link the document's records in both jobs using a pointer. As the document progresses through the second job, the processor tracks and updates its status. When someone queries the status of a document originally in the first job, the processor uses the pointer to identify its current status in the second job and reports that status in the query result. The pointer includes the second mail production job's ID and the specific document's ID within that second job.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of using the pointer by referring to the second mail production job ID and the second piece ID in the second record to find the status of the document originally part of the first mail production job.
The mail production job tracking system uses the pointer, which includes the second mail production job's ID and the document's ID within that job (as recorded in the first job's record), to look up the document's current status by referencing the second job's record. The processor retrieves the status of the document that was originally part of the first mail production job, allowing the system to provide status updates even after the document has been moved to a different job.
12. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job by merging a plurality of mail production jobs to create a larger mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking system, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, the processor performs this reassigning by merging multiple smaller mail production jobs into a single, larger mail production job. The document is then part of this larger, merged job, and the tracking system follows the document through this merged job.
13. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job by identifying that the document was damaged as part of the first mail production job, and generating the second mail production job to reprocess a plurality of damaged documents.
In the mail production job tracking system, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, the processor performs this reassigning because the document was damaged during the first mail production job. A new, second mail production job is then generated specifically to reprocess the damaged documents. The tracking system follows the damaged document through this reprocessing job.
14. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job by splitting the first mail production job into smaller jobs.
In the mail production job tracking system, when a document is reassigned to a second mail production job, the processor performs this reassigning by splitting the original mail production job into multiple smaller jobs. The document is then assigned to one of these smaller, new mail production jobs. The tracking system follows the document through that smaller job.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of separating the document to be produced as part of the second mail production job further by merging smaller mail production jobs to form the second mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking system where a first job is split into smaller jobs, the processor sometimes merges these smaller jobs to form a new, second mail production job. The tracking system then follows the documents through this merged job, which itself was formed from pieces of a split first job.
16. The system of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to perform the step of splitting the first mail production job into smaller jobs by separating document documents to be produced as physical mail pieces from documents to be produced as electronic documents.
In the mail production job tracking system where a first job is split into smaller jobs, the processor performs this splitting by separating documents intended for physical mail from documents intended for electronic delivery. This creates separate mail production jobs for each type of delivery. The tracking system follows the documents through whichever type of job they are assigned to.
17. The system of claim 10 wherein the second mail production job includes a series of job steps and the processor is configured to perform the step of updating the status of the document by recording status for individual job steps.
In the mail production job tracking system, the second mail production job involves a series of steps. The processor updates the status of the document by recording the document's status at each of these individual steps, providing a more granular view of the production process. This enables more detailed status reporting beyond simply "in production" or "completed."
18. The system of claim 10 wherein the first mail production job is a client job, and the processor is configured to perform the step of updating one or more records in the database by recording a relationship between documents in the client job and in the second mail production job.
In the mail production job tracking system, the first mail production job can be considered a client's specific job. The processor updates the database by recording the relationship between the documents in this client's job and the documents in the second mail production job, which could be an internal processing job. This allows for tracking documents back to the original client request.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 19, 2012
June 27, 2017
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